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Prevent Transit Marking
 

Published in New England Printer & Publisher, October 1999.

by Frank Shear

Have you ever had customers complain about receiving jobs with stray marks such as small white splotches where ink was rubbed away? Or, extraneous marks where ink shouldn't be? Or, scratching? If you've experienced any of these problems, then you know that "transit marking" can be a nightmare.

The most discouraging thing about transit marking is that it happens after jobs have been beautifully produced. Transit marking is just as its name implies; unwanted marking that occurs during shipping. Unless preventative measures are undertaken, abrasive paper surfaces may rub against each other while being jostled around in trucks causing stray marks. The presence of microscopic grit, such as press powder or carton debris, may cause unattractive scratches in a paper's surface.

Transit marking happens on many types of printed products, but is especially prevalent in books. Although there is no way to know for certain which jobs will experience transit marking, preventative steps can and should be undertaken to minimize the likelihood of problems.

Predictive Indicators

First, determine if your book job is a candidate for transit marking. If the book's cover has moderate or heavy ink coverage and lacks any coatings such as varnish, aqueous, UV or laminate, then it should be considered "likely" to mark. Before bindery operations begin for jobs in this category, check for wet ink by running your hand across sheets, searching for tackiness. Unfortunately, even if your ink is dry and the job has been flood varnished, there is still no guarantee that transit marking won't happen - especially if dull varnish has been used. Generally speaking, you're less likely to have marking problems if varnish is applied "dry trap" (during a separate press run) instead of "wet trap" (during the same press run as the ink).

For book products, consider the physical characteristics of the book itself. High gloss enamel stock reduces ink penetration and causes ink to rest high on the paper's surface and can easily be scratched or chipped off. Heavy books with unvarnished enamel covers are highly susceptible to transit marking. If the book has areas die cut out of the cover or has any other uneven surface levels (i.e., pockets on the inside cover), marking may form along the raised edges due to uneven friction - much like a brass rubbing. Also, colored paper, especially gray stock, is likely to mark.

Be careful of books with heavy ink coverage on the outside front cover and light coverage on the back. Anytime heavy ink rests against light ink after packing, the chances of marking increase. If reflex blue ink is present, then the problem is worse because it dries so slowly. Other inks to be careful of include red, purple and metallics. If your job is wire-bound, beware of using uncoated tin wire because it marks like crazy.

General weather conditions are also significant factors. High humidity is dangerous because it can hinder the drying process of both ink and varnish. Also, high heat can cause problems because it may moisten ink, becoming more prone to scratching. Even if weather conditions are good in your area, consider where the job is to be shipped. If you're located in the north, expect marking problems for work being shipped to the south during the summer. As the distance of the final destination increases, so does the likelihood of transit marking.

Unfortunately, books that have shipped flawlessly in previous runs still need to be carefully monitored. Even though success may have been achieved before, every repeat job is different and could go wrong. When in doubt, follow the Boy Scout motto and "be prepared."

Testing

Unfortunately there is no foolproof way to guarantee the prevention of transit marking. A simple first testing step is to rub covers together with moderate pressure and look for ink either flaking off or transferring to the opposing sheet. If this happens, the odds are high that you'll experience shipping problems, unless counteracted in advance.

For a better test, bind and pack enough books to completely fill a box and place it in a jogger for a while. Afterwards, if there isn't any sign of transit marking, your job will probably be OK. For those truly faint of heart, with the luxury of time, place a couple of properly packed boxes in your car trunk, drive around normally for a few days and then examine the contents to see if marking has occurred.

Prevention

The first step in avoiding transit marking is to choose the proper carton size. Printed products should fit snugly without corners being damaged and filled to the top of the box. Loosely packed books slide around in cartons and mark easily. If gaps within boxes are unavoidable, your bindery should add packing or filler materials to remove the voids. Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to protect your products from transit marking, including: 

  • Dry trap varnish. Protecting your covers with varnish is an inexpensive way of reducing the chances of unwanted marking. As long as varnish is applied dry trap, it's usually quite effective. 

  • Aqueous, UV coating and laminating. The general rule of thumb is that aqueous offers more protection than varnish, UV more than aqueous, and laminating most of all. If your covers have already been cut to size and no longer have a gripper, then UV coating will be your best coating option. · 

  • Slip-sheeting books. Slip-sheets absorb excess friction and significantly help prevent marking. Unfortunately, slip-sheeting is expensive because additional packers are needed at the end of binding lines. If slip-sheets are used, make sure that they are exactly the same size as the finished product. 

  • Packing perfect bound books spine-to-spine. Packing books spine-to-spine and separating lifts with non-abrasive foam does prevent transit marking better than slip-sheeting, but is more expensive.

  • Stagger stacking books. Stagger stacking (alternating each book) Wire-O, plastic spiral, GBC and spiral wire bound books prevents binding elements from coming in contact with each other. Stagger stacking perfect bound books makes sense if the glue has caused a "nail-head" spine thicker than the face. Nail-head spines are common in notch-perfect bound books.

  • Shrink wrapping. Shrink wrapping is the best way to prevent books from marking, but unfortunately, it's quite costly. Individual shrink wrapped products almost never mark, unless the ink on the cover is grossly wet. Group shrink wrapping also offers excellent protection because contents within properly shrink wrapped bundles don't shift.

  • Skid wrapping. It's important to keep cartons secure on skids during shipment. If products can be banded tightly enough so that nothing moves as trucks start and stop and make sharp turns, transit marking shouldn't occur.

* * *

The best way to prevent transit marking is to take the time to predict which jobs are the most likely to mark and then develop a plan to combat the problem once identified. Choose a binding partner knowledgeable about transit marking problems and work together to adopt preventative measures on a job-to-job basis. With a good game plan, your customers won't be rubbed the wrong way.

Frank Shear is President of Seaboard Bindery, a service-oriented trade bindery located in Woburn, Massachusetts. His company specializes in offering high quality perfect and layflat binding, saddle stitching, Wire-O™, plastic spiral and other mechanical binding solutions. Call Frank at (781) 932-3908.

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